


Far from the Sunflower fields

by PepsiRabbit



Category: The Evil Within (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, suggested human testing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-04
Updated: 2016-05-15
Packaged: 2018-05-18 03:23:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5896246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PepsiRabbit/pseuds/PepsiRabbit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Summer has begun and Ruben is thrilled to spend time with his sister, but his parents have other plans for the children. They're to teach a family friend to be a "gentleman", only, Leslie is a nervous child and has the worst table manners Ruben has ever seen. However, he might just be the perfect lab experiment, but why can't Ruben shake these feelings for him?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Summer had always been a fruitful time in the countryside. The crops would be growing in and soon the harvest would come once fall ended the summer, but for now, the lazy wheat stalks swayed in the summer heat, back and forth like an ocean of brown. Nearby was the sea of sunflowers. They surrounded the mansion on all sides, tangling into the trees and other decorative flowers that dotted the beautiful countryside. 

They were always a beautiful reminder for those who saw them that summer was a time of childish joy and innocence. There were always kids playing in the flower fields, plucking the tall sunflowers by the roots and attempting to carry them home. It was not uncommon to find dirty children along the side of the roads, uprooted sunflowers in their grubby hands and smiles spreading from ear to ear. Even the Victoriano kids, both dressed in proper attire and hair combed nicely, could be found covered in dirt and carrying the sunflowers home. Their allure was too strong for even the fanciest of children. 

On this hot summer evening, Ruben and Laura were on their way home from the flower fields once again. Their mother had scolded them before for going and getting their nice outfits dirty, but neither of them cared. They walked along the side of the dirt road, hurrying along to make it back by curfew. There was a large sunflower in Ruben’s arms. They had uprooted it so they could replant it on their property and the dirt had gotten all over them, despite Ruben rolling up the sleeves of his white collared button up shirt to his elbows. His red tie was loose around his neck and there was sweat and dirt on his face along with a bright smile. He had never been this happy before. He looked over at his sister who was holding up the ends of her red dress. The bottoms were already dusty and dirty despite her best attempts to stay clean.

Laura’s long black hair fell into her shining eyes as she laughed. Ruben caught himself laughing and the two began to run along the side of the road, racing each other home while the setting sun set everything ablaze in red and orange. This was, to Ruben, a perfect moment in time that would forever be kept in his heart. It couldn’t be ruined by anything. The two children turned on the road, going up the driveway to their mansion. As they got closer to the large gate, Ruben stopped noticing a car pulled up to their house that wasn’t theirs. There was something about it that slightly bothered him. It didn’t look like the larger black cars that carried businessmen in them whenever his dad worked with people. It looked average and plain.

“Company!” Laura said eagerly. She pulled on Ruben’s arm, pulling him out of his trance and pushed through the gate. The two dirty children hurried over to the front steps where their parents were standing, talking to two other people, who were dressed in common clothing. Mrs. Victoriano looked over and let out a little disapproving noise when she saw the two kids.

“Ruben, Laura, look at yourselves! You’re all dirty and in front of company!” She pulled Laura closer and licked her thumb, then rubbed it over her cheek trying to clean her off. Laura laughed and squirmed in her mother’s hold. Mrs. Victoriano sighed giving up and released the girl and stood up straight.

“Children, we are having a guest stay with us.” She said. The common dressed adults moved aside to reveal a kid their age, which was around ten, hiding behind them. He had snowy white hair and pale blue eyes. He seemed panicked when his parents moved and he tried to hide behind his dad’s leg again.

“This is Leslie Withers.” Mr. Victoriano said, looking over at Ruben and Laura. “He will be our guest of honor for the summer and I expect the two of you to be nice and make him feel at home here, understood?”

Ruben felt a hatred brewing inside of him as he looked at this pathetic little boy. How dare he come and interrupt his summer fun with Laura! How dare he just come unannounced and push his way into their family! When Leslie moved away from his parents some to politely greet the two children, Ruben just scowled in hatred. Leslie shrunk back in fear, but Laura pulled him closer shaking his hand.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Leslie!” She said smiling brightly. “Do you like sunflowers?”  
The little albino nodded and Laura looked over to the sunflower in Ruben’s hands. 

“We have a whole field of them! We’ll have to show you! Come inside, Leslie!” Laura turned, pulling Leslie with her and ran off inside leaving Ruben alone with the parents and an uprooted sunflower in his hands. He sighed some and deposited the sunflower in the grass at the bottom of the front stairs. He walked past the talking adults, hating the Withers. He hated them for bringing Leslie here. He hated them for ruining his summer. He knew his sister would be too nice to this weakling child. He knew her all too well.

Ruben walked inside and spotted Laura and Leslie disappearing into the upstairs hallway towards their room. Ruben hurried after them up one of the large staircases and turned the corner down the hall. Laura pulled Leslie into her room and Ruben felt the hatred flare up inside him. He would not stand for this! He stormed down the hall and forced open the closed door. Laura and Leslie looked over at him startled by the sudden aggression. Laura was standing in front of Leslie, her hands holding his. Ruben just about blew a gasket.

“Get away from my sister!” He shouted, storming over and pulling them apart. He got up in Leslie’s face, glaring him in the eyes. “You listen here, you little worm! My sister is not to be touched! Nor are you to be around her, understood!? You are not equal to us. You are a commoner! A lowly little commoner! I won’t have you ruin my summer with my sister! I don’t know why they sent you here, but I will not tolerate your presence in my house! Get out!” Ruben shouted.

Leslie cowered in front of him, tears pooling in his eyes. The little albino fled the room crying leaving the two of them alone. Ruben felt a smile jerk onto his face. His job was done and that little worm wouldn’t ruin his summer after all! Ruben turned to face his sister and his smile dropped when he saw her face. Laura was furious. Her cheeks were red and her hands were balled into tight fists at her sides. 

“Laura-” Ruben started. The black haired girl moved forward and pounded on his chest with her fists.

“Why can’t you just behave!? Why can’t you be nice for once!?” Laura shouted in rage. She moved back and ran out of the room, calling after Leslie. Ruben stood there confused as all get out. He hadn’t expected that from her, but truthfully, he didn’t know what he expected from her. Ruben angrily kicked the bed post before running his hands through his blond hair frustrated. How was he going to handle this? A whole summer with this kid stealing his Laura. The very thought of it made Ruben sick to his stomach. He turned and walked down the hall and back to the landing that overlooked the main lobby of the mansion. He leaned on the railing looking down at his parents talking to Leslie’s parents and listened intently.

“I assure you, Leslie is in good hands.” Mrs. Victoriano said as she walked into the room.

“But what if the children make fun of his..his illness?” She fretted.

“You have nothing to fear. My children are very mature. Ruben wishes to be a psychologist after all. I believe he will find Leslie fascinating. They’ll become close friends in no time.” His mother replied. 

Ruben moved back a little confused. Illness? Leslie had an illness? What kind of illness? Was it his albinism? Or something else? Ruben’s curiosity was peaked. He actually felt bad now for yelling at Leslie. If he was a prime subject to be studied, he should have gotten on his good side in order to run tests on him.

“Ruben and Laura will make him a fine gentleman, as per your request.” Mr. Victoriano said. “By the time summer is over, Leslie will be just as prim and proper as our own son.”

Ruben turned around pondering what he had just heard. Perhaps he could still fix this. Perhaps he could right his wrong. Leslie wasn’t a guest. He was a project. That’s all this was. He could handle a project from his parents. He could definitely prove that he could turn a little worm into a gentleman. It would be very hard, but it could be possible if done the right way. 

Ruben straightened his back and put on a confident smile. He was Ruben Victoriano! He could do anything he put his mind to! He headed back down the hallway and soon he could hear Leslie’s cries and his sister’s sweet gentle voice trying to calm him down. Ruben followed the vocal trail into the bathroom and peeked in to see Leslie cowering in the tub and Laura running her hands through his fluffy white hair. Ruben cleared his throat to make them look at him.

“I uh, I wanted to apologize.” Ruben said, moving into the room. “I didn’t realize you were a family friend. I just thought, well, I thought wrong. Let’s put it that way. I take back everything I said and I hope I can make amends for my actions.”

Leslie hesitated before a soft smile appeared on his lips. 

“I-I would like that.” He said. Leslie crawled out of the tub and toddled over to Ruben and held his hand out. Ruben offered a smile back and shook his hand firmly just like his dad had taught him. Laura hurried over and threw her arms around the both of them pulling them into a tight hug.

“Oh isn’t this wonderful? Just the three of us! The three friends! Taking on the world and the summer like it’s our own! This is going to be the best summer ever!” Laura cheered, a wide smile on her face. Ruben couldn’t deny that his sister’s enthusiasm was very infectious and he found himself excited for the summer. Maybe time with Leslie wouldn’t be such a bad thing after all.


	2. Chapter 2

Ruben couldn’t stop staring at him. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t keep Leslie out of his thoughts. Now here they were at breakfast, all of them sitting at the long dining table, and Ruben couldn’t stop staring at Leslie. Everything about the little albino was fascinating. He did not act the same way that they did. Leslie had bad table manners and was very hesitant in his movements. 

When Leslie ate, he held his fork with a fist and didn’t always get it to his mouth before the piece of meat fell off onto the table. He didn’t put his napkin in his lap, and he drank his milk holding the glass with both hands. Whenever he was done, he’d set the glass down and lick his lips, but would completely miss the milk mustache above his lip. Laura had to keep leaning over and help him wipe it off, which he had trouble doing by himself. 

“Ruben,” His mother said sternly, pulling him out his thoughts. Ruben looked over at her, and then back down at his food. He had been caught staring, but he couldn’t help it! There was just something so alluring about Leslie, something that kept Ruben fascinated. 

“So, then, what are you kids up to today?” Mrs. Victoriano asked in a very polite tone.

“Well, I was gonna show Leslie some of my favorite literature.” Laura said with a smile. “And then I thought maybe we could go out to the barn, all three of us, and just enjoy ourselves.”

Ruben found himself agreeing. That would be a good idea. Although he didn’t want to read stuffy books. He wanted to open up Leslie’s head and take a look inside. He wanted to see his brain and study him better. This was the best subject he was going to get for a long time. Someone who would be at his disposal all summer, and have very clear learning disabilities that affected the way he acted. What better research material was there? 

Soon breakfast was over and Ruben found himself alone at the breakfast table with Leslie sitting across from him. His parents had left and so had Laura. The awkward silence set in. Leslie picked up his glass and drank from it again, his pale blue eyes staring straight at Ruben, who stared right back. Leslie put the glass down, but did not set it down right which cause it to spill all over him. He let out a frightened shout and looked down at his lap. Ruben quickly got up with his napkin and hurried over to the other side. He pulled Leslie’s chair out and began to help clean up the milk. 

Light whimpers hit Ruben’s ears and he looked up to see Leslie beginning to cry. 

“Hey, it’s okay.” Ruben said. “No need to cry over milk.”

“I-I c-can’t do a-anything right.” Leslie said pathetically, covering his eyes with his hands. “E-Everything I do, I-I mess up! I-I won’t e-ever be a gent-tleman o-or anything close!” 

Ruben felt pity for the poor creature. For a moment, he did not see Leslie as his newest science experiment, he saw him as a frightened boy who just wanted to act like every other normal boy his age. Leslie wanted to have the normal summer fun that Ruben had originally planned for him and Laura. Leslie wanted to be able to eat a meal without making a mess. For the first time, Ruben actually felt guilty for wanting to take advantage of Leslie’s condition for his studies.  

“Come on,” Ruben said, helping him up. “Let’s get you into some dry clothes, okay?”

Leslie nodded and leaned on him while Ruben held onto his left arm with one hand, and put his other hand around Leslie’s shoulders to guide him. The duo walked out of the dining room into the main lobby. The early sunlight flittered into the room through the large windows on the front of the house. Ruben headed to the closest staircase and lead Leslie up it. His eyes were focused on the large painting of his family hanging on the wall at the top landing of the stairs. Leslie however kept his eyes down to the ground. 

“R-Ruben?” Leslie asked. “D-Don’t t-tell Laura..pl-please.”

“I won’t.” Ruben said. “No one will know of this but us.”

Why was he being so kind to him? This worm was still just a project. He hadn’t done anything good for Ruben. There was nothing good about Leslie other than his brain for scientific study. That, and he did make Laura happy, but that was Ruben’s job. He shoved away the pity he felt and let rage fill the space. Leslie was nothing. He was nothing compared to Ruben and the sooner Ruben could get him out of his house, the better. 

Leslie halted suddenly in the hallway and turned, looking at one of the paintings on the wall above a small table with a vase on it. He toddled over to it and looked up at it more. He smiled just a little, and then looked over his shoulder at Ruben before looking back.

“R-Ruben? Can..can we d-do this?” Leslie asked with a little smile. The picture depicted a group of kids playing and splashing each other in a cool pond. There was green plants all around and smiles on their faces. A small spotted dog stood on the bank and barked at them. Ruben didn’t know of any lakes nearby. There was only a small creek on the furthest side of their property near the border of farmland. 

“Sure, Leslie.” Ruben said, feeling a small smile tug onto his lips. He put his arm around the little albino and continued to walk down the hall until they reached Ruben’s bedroom. He opened the door letting Leslie go first and then followed him inside. Leslie sat on the bed and Ruben crossed over to the dresser opening it.

“How long have you been with us?” Ruben asked, trying to strike up a conversation. 

“A-A week.” Leslie said.

“Already? Amazing how time flies.” 

The two were left in an awkward silence. Ruben decided to break the silence by going over to his record player and starting the record. At least they could have music. He felt better hearing the old crackling music playing as he got out clothing from the open drawer. He handed it to Leslie and turned his back to let him change. He found himself humming to the music while he waited. 

Ruben jumped when he felt arms wrapping around him. He turned a little awkwardly to find Leslie hugging him. Oh wow. Okay, this was awkward. Ruben pried the albino off him and moved away some.

“Why don’t we go find Laura?” Ruben suggested. Besides, he wanted to be left alone to his studies. He didn’t want to play babysitter for a little worm like Leslie. Leslie was smiling from the suggestion and already heading to the door when Ruben came to a sudden realization. He had Leslie all to himself at this very moment. No sister to pry, no annoying parents. He could take him to his study and examine him all he wanted! Ruben grabbed Leslie’s hand stopping him.

“Actually, I was wondering if you’d like to see in my study? I am a scientist.” Leslie’s eyes widened in interest. A scientist! Well that was just the greatest thing in his mind apparently! Ruben laughed to himself in his mind. This kid was so gullible. Before this summer was through, he was gonna cut open that head of his and look at his brain. He was determined to. He had only ever been able to open up animal heads. Never human. If his parents ever found out of his desire, he knew they’d completely shut down his study. They normally would encourage extra studies in the field of psychology and science since to them, it was bragging rights. Oh yes, my son is a scientist but he’s a psychologist too. Oh did I mention he’s a neuroscientist too? Okay, well Ruben really wasn’t a neuroscientist in the full aspects of the job. He just liked the workings of the brain and the idea of the conscious and how it actually existed in all that grey matter. 

Ruben lead Leslie down the hallway, deeper and deeper into the house to where he studied. No one ever came into his study and he was glad for it. No one was allowed in. No one could see what he was working on. It was only him and his studies and his findings, but now, there would be an outsider. An outsider who would contribute to his findings if everything went according to plan. He felt an evil smile spreading across his face. His bloodlust was growing inside him. He could already imagine the things he was going to do to Leslie once he cut him open. He could poke a prod inside his brain all he wanted and watch the little worm squirm under him, watch his reactions and take notes on every last little detail. Every breath, every plea, every painful scream would be documented and used to further science. 

Ruben opened the door to his study. The dusty smell of the old room mixed with formaldehyde and other chemicals hit his nose. The room was dimly lit, only one small lamp as its light source. On the farthest wall, which was was not actually that far due to the room’s small size, was a desk cluttered with with papers. There was a chair near the corner of the room with straps to hold someone in place. It was one of his own homemade creations for whenever he found his first subject. Ruben smiled evilly and sat Leslie down in that chair. He tied the straps, which were made out of old belts, around his ankles and wrists. Leslie squirmed a little uncomfortably.

“R-Ruben, wh-what is happening?” Leslie asked fearfully.

“You’re my experiment now.” Ruben said, walking over to his desk. “I’ve never been able to have a live subject with an actual neurological disorder before quite like yours. I’m going to study you.” he said. He picked up a pad of paper and a pencil and began to write the beginnings of his experimentation. 

_ Subject: Leslie Withers _

__ _ Subject displays signs of learning disabilities and repetitive behavior. Stuttered speech and nervous behavior. Subject is an albino male around the age of ten.  _

__ Ruben stopped writing and circled Leslie like a predator looking at its prey. He poked him with the back of his pencil and Leslie jumped some. The little albino was trembling like mad.

“Wh-Where’s Laura? Wh-Why isn’t she h-here?” Leslie asked.

“Laura isn’t coming.” Ruben said. “and if you breathe a word of this to her, you won’t make it out of this study alive. Understood?”

Leslie nodded. 


	3. Chapter 3

Leslie felt his throat heave once more as he surrendered his breakfast to the toilet. He laid his head against the cool rim of the toilet and felt tears burning at his eyes. This wasn’t fair. This just wasn’t fair at all. He felt a tiny muzzle rub against his dangling arm and he looked to see the family cat, Aristotle. Aristotle was a grey tom cat with a blue ribbon around his neck. Unlike the two Victoriano children, who seemed to only want Leslie to be their playmate and their personal toy, Aristotle loved Leslie for himself. The grey tom cat would crawl into his lap when he sat down on the couch, and sit by his chair at dinner. Many times he woke up in the morning with him sleeping on top of him. Aristotle loved Leslie’s gentleness and innocence. Ruben and Laura loved to abuse it.

The weekend was over and now it was Monday morning. On Friday, Ruben had taken Leslie into his study for the first time and made him a test subject. All weekend he injected him with things and poked and prodded at him. If Leslie told anyone about it, even Laura, Ruben would have him killed. Leslie trusted that Ruben knew the right people and had the power to end Leslie’s life and make it look like an accident and he wasn’t about to call his bluff. He liked living and he wanted to make it home at the end of the summer alive and not in a coffin. 

The injections made him weak. They made Leslie’s head swim and his stomach churn and most of the time, he ended up losing his lunch in the toilet not long after Ruben was done with him. Aristotle meowed a few times, rubbing against Leslie’s hand again. He weakly scratched the cat’s head and watched as the grey tom cat left the bathroom, satisfied with the attention he had gotten. Leslie sat back on the cool tiled floor and ran his fingers through his white hair with a light groan. This wasn’t what his mother had promised him.

Leslie froze up when he heard footsteps coming down the hall. They were heavier than both the females, and he didn’t know which one would be a scarier idea: Ernesto Victoriano, or Ruben Victoriano. The figure of Ruben walked past, then stopped and slowly backed up so he was standing in the doorway to the bathroom, looking at Leslie with that cold glare of his. Leslie shifted some, feeling Ruben’s eyes judging him. He knew he was nothing to him. He was nothing but a lab rat to Ruben and it hurt Leslie terribly. No one ever saw him as a normal person.

“I-I d-didn’t ask f-for this.” Leslie said quietly. Ruben’s eyebrow cocked curiously. 

“I-I didn’t a-ask t-to be d-delayed.”

“I know you didn’t.” Ruben said. “You were born that way. It’s who you are.”

Leslie shook his head. “N-No it’s not! I’m n-not just th-this! I’m n-not meant t-to be an ex-experiment! I-I wanna be normal!” 

Tears started running down Leslie’s cheeks and he felt a sob rising in his throat. Ruben seemed to study him for a moment, taking in what he had said.

“You won’t ever be normal.” 

Ruben turned and walked away leaving Leslie alone in the bathroom. It felt like someone had just ripped his heart right out of his body and smashed it on the ground in front of him. The words continued to replay over and over inside his mind. Leslie found himself moving backwards until his back bumped into the tub behind him. He felt sick, but not like he wanted to throw up. It was a different kind of sick. One he couldn’t describe properly. 

Leslie heard a small meow and saw Aristotle in the doorway. The cat padded over and crawled into Leslie’s lap, nuzzling his face. He realized at that moment what exactly Ruben had made him feel. Worthlessness.

Leslie was completely unwanted. 

 

* * *

 

“Have you seen Leslie?” Laura asked, walking up to Ruben in the library. The boy had his face shoved in one of many science books like always. He looked up, irritated that he had been interrupted, and irritated that his sister was bringing up that worm again. He decided to not share what he knew about the albino puking in the bathroom and simply shrugged. Ruben looked back to his book, reading about the neurons located in the frontal lobe. Laura crossed her arms and tapped her foot.

“I can’t find Aristotle either.” Laura said. Ruben cursed to himself mentally. Stupid cat being attracted to that little worm! Aristotle was suppose to be his cat! Well, okay, he was Laura’s cat too, but Ruben was the one who named him. Ruben sighed and sat back in his chair, putting the book down.

“Leslie felt sick so he was in the bathroom. I don’t know where the little worm is now.” Ruben said truthfully.

“I wish you’d stop calling him that.” Laura said. “He’s our friend.”

Ruben rolled his eyes. Leslie was no friend of his, but sometimes he doubted himself. He kept finding the albino popping up in his mind. It scared him honestly. Sometimes he thought of the experiments he ran on him, but the things that scared him were the times he just thought of Leslie alone. He thought of his little face, his pale blue eyes that held so much innocence, the way he said his name. Leslie was, in a word, adorable. Now, not that Ruben liked him of course, but he could see someone finding an attraction to him. 

Laura snapped her fingers in front of Ruben’s face and he snapped out of his train of thought. Laura was glaring at him and he felt his face heat up. He sunk down in his seat sheepishly. Shit. He was thinking of Leslie again.

“I’m giving you an assignment, since you seem to love homework.” She said. “I want you to show Leslie the sunflower field. I think he’d really like it and you two need to bond. It’s not good for either of you for you to be holding this unneeded anger against him. Understand?”

Ruben nodded silently. He didn’t know why, but he almost felt a little excitement in his chest to see the albino again. He dismissed it quickly as just a scientist’s excitement to see his subject reacting to natural stimulants, but a part of him knew that wasn’t true. He was lying to himself. 

Laura left the room leaving Ruben alone to his own thoughts. He sighed and sat his book on the desk and stood up. Laura was right. He shouldn’t be holding this much hatred for Leslie. After all, the little albino had definitely helped further Ruben’s research. He might as well take him out to the fields. It would be interesting to see how he reacted to the sunflowers that were like, twice his size. He wondered if Leslie had even seen a sunflower before.

He left the library and looked around the mansion for the boy in question. He clicked his tongue a few times trying to call Aristotle. Wherever he was, Leslie wouldn’t be far. He checked the bathroom just to be safe, but he wasn’t there. It wasn’t until Ruben checked his own room did he find Leslie. 

The boy was sitting on the floor, his back resting on the bed’s side. He was flipping through a photo album of the Victoriano family. He looked so sad. Ruben hovered in the doorway watching him. Leslie would look at a picture, obviously thinking about it, then flip the page. His eyes were filled with such grief that Ruben felt pity for him once again. He immediately remembered what he said to him before he left and wanted to smack his past self. While it was true, telling Leslie he wouldn’t ever be normal was a terrible thing to say. What if he got depressed? What if he tried to hurt himself? 

Ruben lightly knocked on the door frame, making Leslie jump and look over. The albino quickly closed the album and scooted away from it, mumbling frightened apologizes. Ruben sighed. He walked in and sat down next to him.

“Look, I’m sorry okay? You are normal. That was really cruel for someone to say, even for me. I..I wanna make it up to you, okay?” Ruben offered. “Have you ever seen a sunflower before?” 

“I-In pictures..” Leslie said, shaking his head no. 

“How would you like to go to the flower fields and see them? We could even bring one home.” Leslie smiled a little and nodded. He moved closer to Ruben and hugged him. Ruben tensed up, not used to getting hugged by anyone who wasn’t his family, but he relaxed just a little. There was nothing wrong with hugs. If Leslie trusted him, he could experiment more, and hugs were a sign of trust. Right? He tried to keep reminding himself of the mission he had planned for this summer. Slowly, Ruben ended up putting an arm around Leslie. He hated to think of being affectionate to anyone other than Laura, but Leslie had no siblings. He was alone. 

“Ruben?” Leslie asked, looking up at him. Ruben looked down into his pale blue eyes.

“F-Friend?”

Ruben decided right then and there that he didn’t care. Maybe he didn’t have to treat every outsider as a science experiment. After all, Laura really liked Leslie and didn’t want to see anything bad happen to him. It was for Laura’s best interest if Ruben did try to become friends with Leslie, at least, treat him nicer than he had been. Ruben smiled just slightly.

“Yeah, we’re friends.”


	4. Chapter 4

Ruben plucked the petals off the sunflower in his lap. Leslie had already plucked a few and given them to the boy as gifts. Ruben had to admit, it was kinda cute. The little albino was thrilled when Ruben took him to the sunflower field. He had never seen such huge flowers before and they were all lined up like soldiers, ready for war. Leslie ran into the field eagerly, trying to pluck the monsters from their soil and immediately hand them over to Ruben as gifts, as if Ruben had never seen sunflowers before and Leslie just had to make sure he saw them!

  
The flowers parted and Ruben looked up to see Leslie toddling over to him, a wild smile on his face. He was covered in dirt practically from head to toe. The two of them had gone barefoot and their pants were rolled up to their knees due to the hot weather. Ruben had also rolled up the sleeves of his white collared shirt and loosened his tie. Leslie, the lucky bastard, didn’t have to wear fancy clothing like them. He had on a simple grey t-shirt that, like the rest of him, was now covered in brown dirt and mud. There was another tall sunflower in Leslie’s grubby hands.

  
“You sure like sunflowers, huh?” Ruben asked.  
“S-Sunflowers!” Leslie was so excited, he could only echo Ruben’s words. He laid the sunflower down with all the others around Ruben and hurried off into the flowers again. Ruben laughed and shook his head. He finished plucking the petals off the flower in his lap and pushed the naked stalk aside. It was boring now. It had no beauty to it. He picked up the next flower and studied it. It almost reminded him of a person in a sense. People had beauty to them, but when they are plucked and pulled to their limits, they break and become dull, boring creatures. You couldn’t blame a person for getting to that point. Usually they would have to be pushed to that, and once a person was pushed to that, there was no going back. Those that caused a person to lose their beauty were the ones that should be plucked from the ground and ripped into pieces.

Ruben let his mind begin to wander onto other topics. Leslie had been here with them for how long now? He really couldn’t remember, and he almost didn’t want to think about the actual date. He really didn’t want to send the little albino back. Okay, he would admit it. Ruben was growing attached to Leslie just like his sister had. It was like having their own puppy, only this puppy could speak english was actually way more accident prone than a real puppy. This puppy would repeat words back to you if he was excited, or scared, or nervous, or just didn’t feel like using his energy to communicate. Ruben liked to play the copy game with Leslie during the late hours of the night when Laura had gone to bed. Granted it had only been a day since Laura had suggested being friends with Leslie, but Ruben had found himself playing the copy game before they had been friends. He would say random things and watch Leslie copy them without even realizing he was doing it. The game worked by Ruben not talking directly to Leslie. He would fake a phone call and see how many things Leslie echoed. It was quite entertaining actually.

  
Ruben was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a sudden scream. He was up on his feet and running through the flowers in a split second. His heart hammered in his chest. That was Leslie’s voice. It was panicked and it was blood curdling. The worst part, is that Leslie was screaming for Ruben. Suddenly, Ruben ran straight into him as Leslie ran from the other way. The two both smacked their faces hard into each other and fell back onto their butts. Ruben rubbed his head, but quickly forgot about himself when he saw Leslie. The boy’s nose was bleeding and he looked like he was punched in the face really badly.

“Leslie-!” Ruben started, when he heard an older voice.  
“Where’d that kid go? He’s one of them Victoriano kids! Don’t let him get away! Let’s teach those land stealers a lesson!” The voice shouted.

Ruben felt fear run through him. Genuine fear. This man was after his family, no, these people. There was more than one by the sound of it. Ruben quickly got Leslie to his feet and held onto him. He began to blindly run into the sunflowers away from the voices, dragging Leslie behind him. He couldn’t let them hurt either of them! He couldn’t let them find the mansion! What if they hurt Laura? The thought of Laura being hurt by these people sent him over the edge and he booked it even faster. The worst of the worst came to his head. Laura being beaten, stabbed, tortured, burned. All of them more worse than the first thought. He had to make sure she was okay. He had to know she was safe. He had to-

  
There was a crack of a gunshot. They were armed. They were out to kill.

“Ruben!” Leslie screamed.  
Ruben spotted the barn and quickly turned heading for it. Once they were in the clearing, he bolted even faster to the doors and pushed them open.

“Quick, Leslie, in here!” He said, shoving the albino inside. Ruben followed him and put the large bar on the door. He grabbed Leslie’s hand and climbed up to the top rafters where the hay was stored. The two of them snuggled into the large clumps of hay hiding. Ruben could hear the men shouting outside due to the open window at the top of the barn, but his heartbeat in his ears seemed to drown them out. Soon their voices grew quiet and all that was left was Ruben’s heartbeat, and Leslie’s soft crying next to him.

Ruben looked down to find that he was still tightly gripping Leslie’s hand. His heart fluttered and a sudden, sickening realization came to him. At this moment, he was more worried about those men hurting Leslie than them hurting Laura. He carefully pulled the albino to him, hugging him. Leslie latched on, letting himself sob. Ruben rubbed his back and ran a hand through the soft fluffy white hair. He felt comforted by the smaller male pressed against him. He felt his nerves calming and the feeling of security filing him. It was a strange feeling, one he couldn’t quite explain. It was a good feeling, he knew that, but it was one he was not used to. Ruben felt himself smiling just a little and he leaned into Leslie more. He was alright with this. He was alright with Leslie’s presence. It was nice and it was comforting to him. He could no longer find one strand of hatred for the albino. How could he hate him? How could anyone hate such a delicate little creature?

Ruben moved back to look into Leslie’s tear stained pale blue eyes. He ran a hand along the side of his face and gently used his thumb to wipe away the tears. Leslie put his hand on top of Ruben’s and smiled just a little. Another feeling began to well up inside of Ruben and it took all he could to suppress it. No. He would not let himself get too attached to this boy. They were friends. That was all. There was no such thing as anything else. Laura was his greatest love in his life. Nothing could ever change that. Absolutely nothing, but, he did have to admit, Leslie’s lips did look very kissable and his skin was so soft. That is, you know, if you liked that kind of thing.

“Th-Thank you.” Leslie said softly.  
“No problem.” Ruben mumbled, trying to forget his own thoughts.

Their faces were so very close. If Ruben just leaned in some, he was sure their lips would touch. It was such a tempting offer. Such a perfect creature, right in front of him, in his lap, all alone with him. Okay screw it, Ruben did want to kiss Leslie. He wanted to kiss him so badly, but now he was worried that if he did lean in and steal those plump little lips for himself, that he would scare the poor dear and make Leslie hate him forever. Luckily for him, he didn’t have to make the first move.

Leslie suddenly kissed him right on the lips. His hands hand onto Ruben’s face and his lips smooshed against Ruben’s with such a force, it caught the blond off guard. However, once his mind realized what was happening, he pressed back with such force that the two of them seemed to be fighting with each other. Ruben pushed his weight forward, pushing Leslie over into the straw. The albino didn’t hesitate in reclaiming Ruben’s lips, pulling him down ontop of him. When they finally broke apart, they laid there and just looked at each other, in awe and curiosity. Had that really just happened? Had they really just kissed?  
Ruben awkwardly got up and adjusted his tie. He brushed off the straw sticking to him and cleared his throat some. He helped Leslie up and helped pick the straw out of his white hair. Neither of them said a word to each other about what had happened. Already, Ruben was denying that it happened. It was simply an accident. Leslie lost his balance and fell forward, which then made Ruben fall over as well. It meant nothing. Simply an accident.

The duo climbed down from the rafters and Ruben unblocked the door. They were careful of possible danger, making sure they did not hear or see any of the men before they started heading home. Ruben didn’t look at Leslie or say anything the whole way back home. It was an accident after all. There was nothing that needed to be discussed. It would be forgotten and never spoken of again. Laura was still his most important love. Nothing would replace her. Nothing. He held onto this firm believe and pushed his newfound feels deep deep within himself where they could not escape.

Ruben pushed open the doors to the mansion and walked inside. He could hear the faint record music coming from the parlor nearby and his parents voices along with others. They must have had company over. Ruben headed up the stairs, taking them two at a time until he was at the top. He hesitated and looked back. Leslie was slowly toddling up behind him at a much slower rate, looking down at his barefeet the whole time. Ruben sighed and waited for him to reach the top. Once Leslie was next to him, they exchanged a brief glance at each other, before they continued down the hallway in silence.


	5. Chapter 5

Rain pattered on the windows as Ruben looked out them. Time was ticking away from him and he found it hard to enjoy his summer properly knowing that time was so limited now. He was definitely enjoying his time, but it was a conflicting time. He had found himself becoming attached to Leslie in ways he couldn’t quite explain. His mind would constantly think back to their kiss in the barn and he would feel his chest heat up. It just couldn’t be possible. Ruben didn’t love anyone except Laura! He refused! 

Yet, his stubborn attitude was wearing away the longer Leslie stayed. He spent more and more time with the albino outside of his testing. Today had started off with breakfast like usual, then all three children had hurried down to the river as per Leslie’s request to go swimming. Ruben had to admit, watching Leslie and Laura splash in the water laughing was quite a fun sight, which only got better when the two dragged him into the water getting him soaked to the bone. Ruben felt a warm chuckle bubble up in his throat as he thought of this. Although it had all been ended too fast when the darkened clouds opened up, releasing their pent up rain onto the heads of the festive children. They had gathered their belongings and quickly ran for home.

The room was toasty warm as the fire crackled in front of them. All the fireplaces in the house were lit and currently it was the only source of light in Ruben’s bedroom. Leslie snuggled in against Ruben’s chest, pulling the blanket around him more. The duo were snuggled up in the arm chair near window. Ruben ran his right hand through Leslie’s soft white hair, while the other supported his chin. He had made sure to lock his door before they had snuggled up like this. It would be the end of him if anyone walked in and saw the two of them like this. It was nice however, and Ruben wanted to stay like this for awhile. Leslie was very warm, and his body was so light that it wasn’t uncomfortable to have him sitting in Ruben’s lap. 

“R-Ruben?”

The blond was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard Leslie’s delicate little voice. The albino was looking up at him with those huge, pale blue eyes, so soft and innocent. Ruben found himself smiling some. His right arm moved from the back of Leslie’s head to hold him around the shoulders, pulling him in closer. Ruben said not a word. He just kissed the top of his head, breathing in the scent of Leslie. The little albino sat up some, which irritated Ruben since it made a lot of their shared body heat disappear.

“A-Are..d-does..doe..” Leslie tried to say.

“What is it?” Ruben asked, irritation itching at his words. 

“T-Together?” He asked finally.

Together? What did that mean? Ruben found himself staring at Leslie in utter confusion. Yes, they were together in this moment, as in physically together. No one else was in the room with them after all. Why did that matter to him? Was Leslie afraid that Ruben was going to hurt him again? Honestly, Ruben really couldn’t stomach the idea of poking and prodding Leslie with with needles and pins in order to record his reactions. It had honestly grown boring and Laura had actually begun to catch wind of it after the whole incident of Leslie throwing up in the bathroom. He assumed that Leslie still hadn’t said anything to anyone, but he honestly couldn’t be sure. Leslie still could have easily confessed in a time of weakness. He wasn’t the most trustworthy individual after all, nor did he seem good at keeping secrets.

“R-Ruben..like Leslie?” The albino asked.

“Indeed, I have taken a fancy to you.” Ruben said, trying to remain proper. He was still better than Leslie after all. The little albino shook his head, moving so their lips were only inches apart.

“L-Leslie..love Ruben.” He said quietly. Very gently, Leslie kissed him. It was so gentle and seemed to happen slowly, yet, so fast that Ruben couldn’t process it. One moment Leslie was gently kissing him, and the next, Ruben was aching for more, stealing kisses from the albino, holding him close. Leslie let out a little whimpering noise, but he did not pull away. His small hands grabbed at Ruben’s shirt like they were life itself. Their mouths battled each other for dominance, neither letting up the force of the kiss.

Ruben was actually the one who let up first. He felt like he was out of breath, but how could he be? It had only been a kiss, but an intense one at that. Leslie looked into his eyes, his hands still holding onto his shirt. Neither of them could spoke as they stared at each other, but both of them realized the same thing. They were in love with each other. Ruben could barely believe that he was letting himself feel this way, but there was something just so right about it. He wanted to kiss Leslie. He wanted to hold him close and protect him. They were wants that he couldn’t deny himself any longer. 

Ruben ran a hand through Leslie’s soft white hair and then down his cheek and held his head. Leslie’s head tilted into Ruben’s hand and the little albino smiled sweetly. His soft blue eyes looked at Ruben with love and Ruben felt like his heart was going to explode just from the sight of the little creature. 

“Leslie,” he said softly. “I think I love you too.”

“L-Love.” Leslie echoed.

Ruben gently kissed him one more time. He looked out the window again at the darkened sky and the water droplets running down the glass. It looked so terrible out there, but it was so safe and warm inside, especially with the little albino on his lap. Ruben smiled some and shifted, moving Leslie to the side so he could get up.

“How about some hot chocolate, huh? My treat.”

Leslie clapped his hands eagerly while Ruben wrapped him up in the blanket. He gently kissed the albino’s forehead and headed to the door. He carefully unlocked it before he opened it. Ruben suddenly came face to face with his sister to his surprise.

“What are you two doing?” She asked.

“Nothing!” Ruben tried to move some so that she couldn’t see into the room. Laura just smirked and tried to peek in, but everytime she moved, Ruben moved to block her.

“Is Leslie in there?” She asked.

“No!” 

“Yes he is, don’t lie to me!”

“Laura go away!”

“Why are you being so secretive, Ruben?”

“None of your business!”

Laura giggled and suddenly ducked under his arm going into the room. Ruben shouted in protest and tried to grab her, but she was just too fast. Leslie perked up seeing Laura and suddenly Ruben felt something deep within him that confused him to the very core. It was hatred, but it was not the usual hatred he had felt. It was the jealous kind of hatred. It was the kind that he often felt when people got too close to his sister. The only problem was that this feeling was coming not for his sister, but for Leslie. He was jealously angry that Leslie perked up when Laura walked in. For the first time, Ruben almost hated his sister. He wanted her to disappear. He wanted to her to stop taking Leslie’s attention away.

“Okay, we’ve had our fun, it’s time to go.” Ruben said, grabbing at his sister’s shoulders.

“Aw, but I just got here!” Laura protested with a fake pout.

“Come on, time to go.” 

Ruben pushed his sister over to the door and out into the hallway. Laura was actually surprised now by the sudden removal and turned to face him, just as he was beginning to shut the door on her.

“Ruben?” She asked confused. “What’s gotten into you?”

“Truthfully, my dear, I don’t know.” Ruben said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I wish I knew. I really do, but until I know, please, just let me sort this out, okay?”

Laura nodded some. “I trust you, Ruben. You always do the right thing. I’ll be in my room if you need me.” She moved forward and gently pecked his cheek before she turned and headed down the hall. Ruben watched as the red of her dress disappeared into the darkness. He sighed leaning against the doorframe. What had become of him? Why did he no longer feel that burning desire for his sister like he always did? Why, suddenly, did he find himself chasing after some little albino kid he had just met this summer? None of it made sense. 

Once he was sure Laura was gone, Ruben slipped out into the hallway and shut the bedroom door behind him. He still had to get Leslie his hot chocolate just like he had promised. He couldn’t even begin to imagine letting down such a sweet little creature. Ruben headed down the large stairs into the lobby. Lighting cracked outside lighting up the dark room. He felt himself heave a sigh. All of this seemed so different now. Normally he was used to walking around in a mansion and living only the good life while watching others below him suffer, but now, how could enjoy the suffering when Leslie was one of the ones under him suffering. Somehow, someway, he had to help him. Maybe it would be just teaching him to be a gentleman like he was suppose to do, or maybe it would be staying by his side and comforting him in his time of need. Either way, Ruben was prepared to be there and do what he had to do.

Ruben prepared the two mugs of hot chocolate in the kitchen by himself before making the trek back to his bedroom. When he walked in, he found that Leslie was snuggled up in the blanket asleep again. Ruben smiled and sat the mugs on the nightstand before coming over to the little albino and carefully picking him up bridal style. It was a good thing that Leslie was light, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to carry him. Ruben frankly wasn’t that strong. It was hard for him to even carry Laura for long periods of time, but he knew he’d get stronger in time. He laid the sleeping boy on his bed and tucked him in under the covers before crawling in next to him. 

Ruben picked up his mug of hot chocolate and sipped at it. They could always make another cup for Leslie later or simply reheat it. He’d hate to wake the sleeping boy. He looked so cute and peaceful as he laid there, his features illuminated by the soft glow of the fire that burned away at the logs in the fireplace. Ruben felt completely at ease. This was a life he could get used to. It was like his own personal paradise. 


	6. Chapter 6

Screams suddenly echoed out against the wallpaper clad walls. Leslie clawed at said wallpaper, pulling some of it off when he found a little tear in it. His eyes were wide and panicked. Scream after scream ran from his throat as he tried to claw through the wall. Suddenly arms were wrapping around him and pulling him backwards. The hands held onto him firmly and he felt a warm breath on his neck. Someone was grabbing his arms, holding them down. He fought more, scared of his attackers.

“Leslie! It’s me!” Ruben’s voice cut through his panicked thought and brought the little albino back to reality. They were sitting on the floor, Leslie in Ruben’s lap, Laura holding Leslie’s arms. He leaned back against Ruben’s shoulder panting in fear. He felt Ruben’s hand creep up and brush his bangs back, holding him comfortingly. 

“It’s okay. It was just your imagination.” He said softly to him. “You’re okay now.”

This wasn’t the first time this had happened. Ruben and Laura had found Leslie having breakdowns and panic attacks before and each time they had to calm him down. The more times they found him like this, the more Ruben began to worry. Leslie was getting worse. His manners were better, but his sanity was beginning to fail. Ruben hated to think about it, but he began to wonder if his experiments would end up helping him. Granted, they had never helped him before, but maybe they would this time.

“Ruben, what are we going to do?” Laura whispered, running her hands over Leslie’s arms. 

“I..I don’t know..” He admitted.

Carefully, he picked him up and carried him back to his room, laying Leslie down on the bed. Once he made sure the little albino was safe and secure, he walked out into the hallway where his sister was waiting. He shut the door with a small sigh and turned to face her. The siblings stared at each other in silence. Laura pulled Ruben into a hug and burrowed his face into her shoulder. Laura led him downstairs and the two of them sat in the sitting room, each with a cup of tea that the maids brought to them.

“Talk to me, Ruben.” Laura said.

“What do you want me to say?” He asked, stirring his tea with his spoon.

“You’ve changed.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“You’re worried about him, aren’t you?”

Ruben froze and looked up at her. She had him pinned.

“You don’t have to hide it, Ruben. I know you care about him.” Laura said. She took a sip of her tea slowly. Ruben watched her. He envied his sister. Everything about her was so graceful and angelic. It was hard to read her thoughts due to this facade that she carried around with her. Ruben was very bad at hiding his thoughts, especially from his sister. She could read him like an open book. Ruben sighed and sat the teacup down on the table in front of them.

“Is it really that obvious?” He asked.

“Yes, it is. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I..I didn’t know how to handle it. I’ve only ever loved you before. I couldn’t handle the idea that I was liking someone other than you. It just, it felt so wrong, but I can’t deny that being near him is a good feeling. One I happen to like actually.” Ruben said, letting his thoughts just pour out of him. They had been trapped in his mind this whole time, begging to be released, but he had put up a wall, refusing to let these confusing feelings out. 

“Ruben,” Laura said gently. “You can’t keep me being your only love. It’s natural to like other people like that. Besides, I’m your sister. I can’t be a lover to you and you know that. You don’t have to have this figured out yet. We’re young. You have plenty of time to think about Leslie and how he makes you feel, after all, mom and dad are good friends with the Withers. This won’t be the last time Leslie comes to visit us, I can guarantee you that.”

“But what if it is?” Ruben fretted. “He’s been getting worse and you’ve seen it yourself!”

“Ruben-”

“What if he completely loses it and we never see him again?”

“Ruben please!”

Ruben stopped talking and sat back on the couch.

“Just think for a minute, okay? We’re, what, ten years old? You’re worrying like we’re twenty! Leslie will be just fine and so will you. You can love him, you choose not to, you could even remain in this confused state if you want. Nothing has to be solved yet, Ruben. That’s the beauty of life.” Laura picked up her teacup and sipped at it again while the words sunk in. Nothing is solved yet. Nothing is final. Ruben felt comfort from this. He could still do something about this, and if he didn’t, it didn’t matter. He didn’t have to change things. 

“Thank you, Laura.” Ruben said, picking up his own tea.

“Not a problem, dearie. How about tomorrow you two go to the sunflower fields, just the two of you? He really seemed to like being out there the last time we took him.” She said.

Ruben nodded. “Yeah, that’d be a good idea. Maybe some environmental changes could stimulate him just enough to counteract the-”

“You’re getting all psychologist on me, Ruben.”

“My apologies.” 

 

* * *

The sky was blue, dotted with fluffy, white clouds as the warm summer breeze gently made the tall sunflowers sway to unheard music. There was barely any noise other than the insects buzzing around in the flowery giants and the wind. The only other noise there was was the soft pitter patter of barefeet walking along the dirt rows and hands pushing the large stalks aside to clear their path. Ruben had to admit, it was a beautiful day. He looked around as they walked, but he could not see over the sunflowers. Not that he had expected to, but there was still the curiosity of what laid behind the flowers. Ruben jumped when one of the rough leaves slapped him right in the face. He growled just a little under his breath, pushing it out of his way. 

Leslie had a huge smile on his face as he pushed the flowers out of his way. Ruben couldn’t help but think of how adorable he was when they were out here. It was like this flower field was one of the only things that brought Leslie any happiness. Ruben suddenly felt playful and moved so he was in front of Leslie. He wrapped his arms around the albino and picked him up while the boy laughed. He kissed Leslie’s neck and cheek over and over again. Leslie pushed at his chest laughing up a storm.

“Ruben!” He laughed. “S-Stop it!”

Ruben sat Leslie down and started to run forward. “Come on, Leslie!”

The two boys ran through the field of sunflowers laughing, one chasing the other. Leslie held his hands out in front of him, trying to grab the back of Ruben’s shirt. Leslie’s foot got caught in a small dip and he fell forward into the dirt. Ruben stopped right away and turned around, crouching down to him.

“Leslie, are you okay?” He helped him sit up and tried to dust him off. Leslie nodded.

“Yeah..I-I’m okay.”

The two got back up and continued to walk through the flowers. Ruben looked up at the blue sky, his hand holding onto Leslie’s hand. This was such a nice day, such a nice experience. Slowly, what looked like thin wisps began to float by in the sky. Ruben stopped walking, making Leslie stop too.

“R-Ruben?” Leslie squeaked, looking over at him. Ruben’s eyes remained locked on the sky and the small wisp floating by. He narrowed his eyes some. Something wasn’t right here. He sniffed the air and the thick smell of smoke filled his nostrils. There was a fire nearby. Suddenly the realization hit him. There wasn’t just a random fire nearby. The field was on fire.  

“Leslie, we have to go.” Ruben said.

“W-Why?” Leslie asked.

“We have to go, now!” 

Ruben pulled on his hand and turned, running the way they had just come. Fear was pounding in his skull as they ran. Someone had set fire to their sunflower field. The two of them reached the end of the row, back to one of the main paths of the field, when they were stopped in their tracks by large men with pitchforks, guns, and torches.

“Oi, lookit wot we have here.” One man said, scratching at his stubbly beard. “I thinks we gots ourselves Victorianos.” He aimed his gun at the two boys. Ruben moved in front of Leslie using himself as a human shield. He wouldn’t let anyone hurt this boy. Not on his watch!  The men laughed seeing Ruben’s pathetic attempt at protecting Leslie.

“You can’t save yourselves now,” A man with a torch said. “Your family is a buncha land stealers, buying up all our land and running us out of our businesses.” 

“Leslie, run!” Ruben suddenly shouted. 

Leslie turned and dashed back into the sunflowers as fast as he could. Ruben quickly ran after him right as he heard a gunshot crack. Neither of them were hit and he could only momentarily breathe a sigh of relief. They were after them and neither of them were strong enough to fight back. Leslie stopped running when he reached the section of field that was burning. Ruben quickly grabbed the albino, pulling him back against his own chest. 

“We have to go, Leslie!” He hissed into his ear. Ruben pulled him away and down another path that weaved in between the large stalks. There was nothing but chaos as the flowers burned around them. Ruben held onto Leslie’s hand tightly as their barefeet carried them over the twigs and dead stalks and dirt. Each way they turned seemed to be another road in the endless maze. Ruben was getting all turned around in this madness and for once he had no idea where he was or how to get home. He was completely lost in a burning sunflower field. 

“Ruben!” An older man’s voice called nearby. Ruben’s heart skipped a beat. He headed in the direction of the voice, pulling Leslie with him.

“Ruben! Leslie! Where are you?”

“Father!” Ruben shouted. “Father!”

The sunflowers thinned and there before Ruben was the end of the field. His father, mother, and sister were standing there worried on the road. Mrs. Victoriano hurried over and scooped Ruben up, hugging him tightly. Leslie went straight for Laura, who gave him a much needed hug. Mrs. Victoriano herded the kids over to the car and inside. Each child was talking at the same time in the chaos and panic of the moment. Ruben, trying to tell his mom about the men; Laura, trying to get Leslie to calm down and for her father to get in the car; Leslie, echoing everything he heard, jumping pitches and emotions based on everyone’s different fear.

Finally, Mr. Victoriano got in the car and they took off down the road back to the mansion. Leslie had stopped copying everyone and instead taken to sobbing against Laura’s shoulder. Ruben watched his heart breaking for the small boy. It wasn’t safe here anymore for him. It wasn’t safe for anyone. Ruben looked out the car window, watching as the burning sunflower field passed by, fading into the distance behind them.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for sticking with this story. It's meant so much to me to see how much you all love it and it's been such a pleasure writing it. This is the last chapter of the story, but there will be an epilogue after and I'm already writing a sequel to this story called Long Way Down. Again, thank you so much for reading.

“Well, I think that’s everything.” Ruben said, closing the lid to the suitcase. “Your parents will be here in the morning to get you.”

Leslie sat on Ruben’s bed, fiddling with his sleeves while Ruben finished packing the albino’s suitcase in front of him. When Leslie didn’t say anything, Ruben stood up and sat next to him on the bed.

“Hey, what’s wrong? Talk to me.” He put an arm around him, pulling him closer.

“D-Do I really h-have to go?” Leslie asked.

“You know it’s not safe right now. Besides, it’s August. The summer is ending.”

Leslie sighed some and slumped forward. Ruben rubbed his back soothingly trying to comfort him. It was a terrible thought that the summer was over and Ruben had never thought that he would be so pained to see August come. If it were up to him, he’d make sure the school year never came so Leslie could always stay with them.

He could hardly believe everything that had happened. He also couldn’t believe a whole summer had passed already in such a short amount of time. Ruben had to admit, it hadn’t been the summer he had been expecting, but it was a damn good summer. It was a Leslie filled summer. It was a summer of laughter and of happiness. He did spend time with his sister like planned, but this time there was a third person in the mixture. There were jokes and games in the flower fields, ice cream and swimming at the nearby river. 

It was a summer that had changed him as a person and introduced him to a new feeling that he hadn’t ever thought he would feel. Leslie had taught Ruben how to love. Not just family love or adoration like he had been harboring for years for his sister, no, Leslie taught Ruben honest to God love. Leslie had taught him how to feel empathy for another person. Well, he at least had started Ruben on the right track. He still wasn’t a perfectly loving person nor was he warm either. Ruben couldn’t let go of the cold bitter hatred he carried for the world around him, but at least now, with Leslie’s warm, loving touch, there was a soft spot in him that was ready to accept people into his life. 

Now all that they had left was this night and this moment together. It had to be savored. They couldn’t just let this pass them by. Ruben was painfully aware of how fleeting time was. In a couple hours, morning would come, and with the morning light would come Leslie’s parents the end of all they had established this summer. Ruben could not let this moment pass him by.

“Hey, I have an idea.” Ruben said getting up. He took Leslie’s hands and made him stand up. “Come on, it’ll be fun. Let’s have a little celebration before you go, huh?”

Ruben took Leslie downstairs into the main lobby. He went to the record player and looked through the different records before putting one on. It crackled and popped as the piano and old time sounding violins and trumpets played.

“May I have this dance?” Ruben asked, holding his hand out to Leslie. The albino seemed to hesitate about this before he took his hand. Their bodies pressed together and slowly they moved together across the marble floor. Ruben held onto Leslie’s hand while the other rested on the smaller boy’s hip guiding him. Leslie was clumsy as always, but now it seemed more like a charm than a problem like it had been before. He wasn’t the best dancer, but what did it matter? What mattered was that for the moment, the two of them were here together, swaying to the music, safe and sound. 

Leslie laid his head on Ruben’s shoulder while they swayed together. Ruben began to hum to the tune while he counted out the steps of the waltz in his head. He was well learned when it came to each delicate step involved in a proper waltz. Leslie definitely wasn’t. The albino kept tripping over his feet as they danced.

“Leslie,” Ruben said. “Just follow me, okay?”

The little albino nodded. 

“One, two, three. One, two, three.” Ruben said starting the waltz. His feet glided on the marble and Leslie’s began to do the same. The more Ruben counted, the more the boy kept up. The duo moved this way and that, twirling and spinning together. Laughter started up between them as they danced. There was only them and would only ever be them. There was no need to be afraid anymore. Laura was right, nothing was set in stone and nothing had to be worried over. There was always a tomorrow. There was always going to be hope and another sun rise. The summer might have ended, but another summer would come and so would Leslie. 

Ruben pressed his forehead against Leslie’s listening to the boy’s sweet voice as he laughed. This was the single sweetest moment in his entire life. He savored every single second, drinking it in and letting himself get drunk of Leslie’s sickeningly sweet personality. Who would have known that love would be this wonderful? Who would have ever known that this beating in Ruben’s chest would ever find a purpose to beat for another human being other than himself or his sister? 

“Ruben?” Leslie asked, looking up at him. “I-I love you.”

Ruben smiled. “I love you too, Leslie. You know, you’re a very good dancer.”

“Really?”

“Yes, my dear. You’re light on your feet. You just need practice.”

“W-Will you teach me when I come back?” 

“I would be honored.”

Leslie and Ruben danced all night practically, at least that’s what it felt like to them. Sometimes they would be spinning around, dancing as fast as they could, trying to keep up with the record player. Other times, they swayed slowly in one spot, whispering things to each other in hushed tones. It was in these hushed, close moments when Ruben felt like he could spill out his heart to Leslie. There was nothing hidden or held back. All the things he had been wanting to say for the entire summer simply didn’t need to be said because they were being said in silence by this one moment with him. Truly there was some kind of magic in this or some kind of psychological discovery hidden under it all. 

How was it that something as insignificant as dancing in the late night hours could hold such importance to Ruben? What chemicals were pulsing through his brain to make him smile like this, make his heart skip a beat when Leslie laughed, when he said his name, when he looked at him with those soft blue eyes of his? Ruben’s curiosity would never be satisfied. He had assumed that by making Leslie his friend would end his scientific wonders about the albino, but now he only wondered more. There would be no experiments. Nothing as vile as that could touch a pure angel like Leslie. Mankind was not meant to understand the works of God, but only those of mortals. Psychology was the study of a mortal mind, but Leslie went beyond the barriers of psychology. He was some kind of miracle from above. 

Gently, Leslie kissed him. It was soft and sweet like every other rare time they shared a kiss. Ruben savored the touch, putting a hand on Leslie’s cheek. Ruben was hopeless in love and he accepted it. Whether this was real love or just a puppy dog crush that later would fizzle out as he grew older was unknown to him. What Ruben did know was that he wanted to enjoy this while it was happening. He wanted to enjoy Leslie’s presence and the joy it brought him. 

“Will you st-stay?” Leslie asked, drawing Ruben out of his thoughts.

“Stay? What do you mean?” Ruben asked.

“W-Will you always be th-there to keep me safe?”

“Leslie, as long as I am here, nothing will ever hurt you. I vow this on my life.”

Leslie smiled and laid his head against Ruben’s chest while they gently swayed. The music on the record player cracked and popped as some woman from the 1920’s sang a sad song about her lover leaving her, but that she was his tonight and would always love him. How tragically fitting it was to this bittersweet moment. 

Little did either of them know, Laura stood above them on the landing where they two staircases met. She leaned on the railing smiling with her head in her hands. She had known all summer that Ruben was falling for Leslie and vice versa. To her, this was a beautiful sight seeing the two of them happy, dancing away like fools. Happy little fools. She hoped her brother could always be like that, a happy little fool. There was nothing better in life than being one and being blissfully unaware of the hardships of life passing you by. 

 

* * *

Ruben swallowed against the tight ball in his throat. This was harder than he thought. The Withers had shown up at ten in the morning sharp like they had promised. Now, they all stood on the front steps while Mr. Withers packed Leslie’s things into the car. Mrs. Victoriano and Mrs. Withers were talking happily about their summers and about mom things. They were just waiting for Laura to bring Leslie down from the bathroom. The poor thing had been so nervous and worked up about leaving that he had gotten sick in the bathroom. Ruben sighed finding a small smile creep up onto his face. He would miss Leslie’s nervous behavior. 

Arms wrapped around him and Ruben looked over his shoulder to find Leslie hugging him from behind. He turned and gave the little albino a proper hug. He held him close and neither of them wanted to separate. Ruben gently ran his fingers through Leslie’s soft white hair and he could hear the boy starting to cry into his shoulder. 

“As long as I am here.” Ruben whispered. “Nothing will ever hurt you.”

Leslie’s grip on him tightened.

“I will never let go of you. I will never forget about you.” Ruben continued on. “I love you, Leslie Withers.”

They stayed like that for as long as possible, but their last embrace was broken when Mrs. Withers declared that it was time to go and that they would keep in touch. Leslie took his mother’s hand and followed her down the steps to the car. He kept his beautiful blue eyes on Laura and Ruben the whole time. 

“Bye Leslie!” Laura called, waving. She was smiling, trying to be positive. This was killing Ruben. He gave a small wave and a smile. Leslie smiled finally and waved back. 

“B-Bye.” He said. He got into the back of the car and the door shut. The car started up and with a few honks of the horn, the car started down the driveway and away from Victoriano manor. Away went Leslie, leaving Ruben feeling so horribly alone. He stayed on the front porch watching the outline of the Withers car as it sped off down the road. He watched as it got smaller and smaller, until finally it was just a speck on the horizon. It was taking Leslie far far away from here, to a place far from the sunflower fields where Ruben would be unable to touch him, to hear him, or to love him. Leslie would now remain a memory in his heart, warming it every day that Ruben would think of him.

“Hey, Ruben?” Laura asked, noticing his shift in mood. “How about we head out to the barn, just you and me? We can jump from the rafters into the hay and play hide and seek, like old times.” 

Laura took Ruben’s hand and he felt himself smile.

“Yeah. I think I’d like that.”


	8. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is the end! Short little chapter just enough to give you a little taste for the sequel: Long Way Down!  
> Thank you so much for reading!

Ruben’s tired eyes read over the documents for the third time before he scrawled his name at the bottom approving the medicine that was being prescribed to this patient. He put his pen down and rubbed at his bandaged up hand with a slight groan of pain. His whole body was covered in burns from head to toe and they always seemed to hurt. It was years after the beloved summer that he and Leslie had spent together. Everything had changed after his little angel had been taken from him. The barn had been burnt down when he and Laura were in it. Ruben managed to make it out, but Laura had not.

Ruben’s heart had frozen over once more. Both of his loves were now gone. He had held onto the hope that Leslie would return with the summer, but the Withers never talked to the Victorianos again and Leslie never returned. Ruben never heard from him again. Laura and Leslie were gone forever. Ruben fell back on the only thing he knew how to do: psychology. He went to school and became a doctor. Once Ruben had his degree, he moved to the big city of Crimson City and interned at Beacon Mental Hospital for awhile before he became a full fledged doctor at the hospital.

Now here he was in his office, signing paperwork. What a wonder life he led. He had thought that working here would finally sooth his aching heart by giving him something to fill the gap, but nothing would work. Nothing would make Ruben feel better.

A knock came at his door.

“Dr. Victoriano?” A nurse asked, standing in the doorway.

“What is it?”

“Dr. Jimenez is having his patient transferred to Beacon and they’re assigning you to him.”

“Which one? Valerio or Marcelo?” 

“Valerio, sir. The one from the Hospice.”

“Good. I can’t stand Marcelo.”

Ruben pushed his chair back and stood up. He pushed some of the paperwork into a folder and put it in a drawer in his desk before he left his office. Well, at least a new patient could help get his mind off things. He couldn’t help but wonder what kind of patient he would be dealing with this time. Valerio seemed to deal more with children due to his kind nature. Ruben was not good with kids and he did not want to be dealing with a seven year old. If this was a little kid, he was demanding the patient be switched off to someone else. Maybe Marcelo could take him.

Ruben could only imagine Marcelo trying to deal with a small child while the child ran around the hospital like children would do. It almost made him laugh. Marcelo was such a mess. How could that man even call himself a doctor? He was inexperienced and knew nothing about psychology even if he was a senior staff member and Ruben was new. Sometimes Ruben questioned whether that man really did go to college or if he just faked it. 

“Here’s his room.” The nurse said stopping at one of the rooms. “Room 203.”

“Thank you, nurse. Do you have his files?”

“Of course.”

She handed over a file filled with papers and then opened the door for him.

“Call me if you need anything, Ruben.” 

Ruben watched her leave and then turned walking into the room. He looked down at the files opening them while he began to talk.

“I will be your new doctor, mister-”

“Ruben?”

That voice. Ruben knew that small delicate voice. He looked up to see two pure blue eyes staring back at him. White hair, and pale cheeks, and soft pink lips. He quickly looked down at the file.

_ Patient: Leslie Withers _


End file.
